Second Changes, Jersey Style
April is Second Chance Month, an idea that we take seriously in my home state of New Jersey. On Tuesday, April 8th, NJ Governor Phil Murphy announced his second round of clemency grants under his Clemency Initiative. Ninety-three people received clemency yesterday — and 93 lives were forever changed. Along with the other members of the Clemency […]
S1EP17: The Cruel World of Compassionate Release, with Mary Price, General Counsel of FAMM
What happens to people in prison who face terminal illnesses? Or develop dementia? Or who are just very old? Do they deserve to spend their final days at home? How do we make that happen? In this episode of Just Justice, Mary Price, General Counsel of FAMM, walks us through the complex and often cruel world […]
S1EP17: The Cruel World of Compassionate Release, with Mary Price, General Counsel of FAMM
What happens to people in prison who face terminal illnesses? Or develop dementia? Or who are just very old? Do they deserve to spend their final days at home? How do we make that happen? In this episode of Just Justice, Mary Price, General Counsel of FAMM, walks us through the complex and often cruel world […]
S1EP16: The False Promise of Criminal Legal Reform, with Eve Hanan, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research at UNLV School of Law
Eve Hanan wrote a law review article called Terror and Tenderness in Criminal Law that blew my mind. She makes the argument that opportunities for leniency in the criminal legal system — parole, clemency, compassionate release — seduce us into believing the system is just and merciful, when in reality, the system is far too […]
Justice Heros
Dear Friends, I know we are all reeling from the daily barrage of bad news, designed to distract and overwhelm us from the devastation that this administration is causing, both here and abroad. But many of you reading this refuse to be cowed. You are engaged in acts of daily resistance. Maybe you’ve called your representatives. Maybe you […]
S1EP15: Prosecution Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) and Wrongful Convictions, with Marissa Bluestine, former innocence lawyer and Assistant Director of the Quattrone Center
This week on Just Justice we talk with Marissa Bluestine, Assistant Director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Marissa is a former innocence lawyer and one of the nation’s leading experts on Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs). CIUs are specialized units within prosecutor offices […]
S1EP14: Unpacking the Pardon Process with Law Professor and National Clemency Expert Rachel Barkow
This week on Just Justice we peel back the curtain on the inner workings of the federal clemency process with law professor Rachel Barkow, a nationally-recognized expert in the field. Professor Barkow walks us through the stunningly complex and inefficient pardon application process, rates Presidents Obama, Biden and first-term Trump in their pardon efforts, and speculates […]
S1EP13: Kelly Savage-Rodriguez, A Survivor
Kelly Savage-Rodriguez defines survivor. She survived years of abuse as a child and later extreme domestic violence in her marriage. She survived being criminally prosecuted and convicted in 1998, along with her abusive husband, for the murder of her son — a crime she did not commit or intend. She survived years in a California […]
S1EP12: Beyond Guilt, with Steve Zeidman, Co-Director of the Second Look Project
Steve Zeidman is a criminal defense hero who has spent his entire career fighting for people with nowhere else to turn. In this episode, Steve walks us through some of his most compelling efforts to gain freedom for people who would otherwise spend their lives in prison. Steve’s zealous advocacy for second chances will leave you […]
Clemency, New Podcast Episodes and LA Fires
Dear Friends, Last year ended on an impossibly high note, when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the first of his clemency grants. He commuted the prison terms of three women who had served decades behind bars and are now finally home with their families and communities. He also pardoned 33 others. I am deeply honored to […]